History: For years, Auburn University has had one of the top competition and training facilities in the country in the James E. Martin Aquatic Center. In the fall of 2007, Auburn furthered the commitment to its athletes as the Tigers opened their new outdoor pool, adjacent to AU's Student Activities Center.

Sitting at the former site of Auburn's Luther Young Tennis Courts, the outdoor pool is 50-meters long and 25-meters wide. It can be set up with 10 lanes for long course (50-meter) swimming or 22 lanes for short course (25-meters).

The pool holds 600,000 gallons of water and is heated so that it can be used throughout the year.

"The outdoor facility adds that additional level of flexibility for our training and preparation," said head coach Brett Hawke. "Swimmers, for the most part, if the weather is nice would rather train outdoors because of the air quality and the freshness, the sunshine, everything that goes along with swimming outdoors."

Along with the bonus of training outdoors, the outdoor pool offers an advantage in training for international competitions as many of those are held outdoors.

"It is a wonderful training facility, it is a tremendous complement to the indoor facility that we have," said Hawke. "It is also is a tremendous asset in regard to recruiting and to training, in particular at the Olympic level."

Directions

To Auburn From Montgomery on I-85 North:
Get off I-85 N at EXIT 51
Take a LEFT at the light onto College St.
Stay on College St. for about 4 miles. You will see Samford Hall on the Left hand side of the street and The University Chapel on the right.

To Auburn From Atlanta on I-85 South:
Get off I-85 S at EXIT 57. Follow road to the right.
At the traffic light, take a LEFT (you are now on Glenn Ave.)
Stay on Glenn Ave. for about 4 miles
After you turn onto Glenn Ave. you will travel through four traffic lights. The fifth light will be College Street.
Take a LEFT onto College Street
Travel to the next traffic light (you are now at Toomer's Corner)
Across the intersection, J&M Bookstore will be on the left side of the road, and Auburn University will be on the right.

To Auburn from Birmingham on Highway US-280E:
Take a RIGHT off US-280E onto AL-147 (there will be a Conoco Service Station at the intersection)
Stay on AL-147 for 4.8 miles. It is a straight shot to Auburn where AL-147 will turn into College Street.
After you cross the railroad tracks you will enter downtown Auburn.
The light following the tracks will be at Glenn Ave. Go through the intersection.
The next intersection will be Magnolia Ave. (Toomer's Corner)
Across the intersection, J&M Bookstore will be on the left side of the road, and Auburn University will be on the right.